Brie Larson OscarsSoWhite

Timing is on Brie Larson’s side. Or is it? She’s the subject of a new cover story in The Hollywood Reporter one week after earning an Oscar nomination for her work in Room.

Brie’s been building Oscar momentum all season. She won a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice award, and is currently filming her first (possible) blockbuster tentpole Kong: Skull Island in Australia. In the THR feature, they call her the “one to beat”, boosting her profile during the first week of Oscar voting, and cementing her Best Actress frontrunner status. If she wasn’t before, Brie’s new cover puts her on the Academy’s radar a week and a half before she (likely) wins the SAG Award on Jan. 30… if the Academy was actually focusing on the nominees right now. You’ll note, she’s sharing her cover with #OscarsSoWhite. Which Brie smartly acknowledges. She posted about the cover on her Instagram page and thanks THR, but also included this caption:

“Personally, I'm interested in reading their article on #OscarsSoWhite. This is a conversation that deserves attention.”

As you know, Brie and all the other Oscar nominees have been taking a backseat this past week as the conversation has been dominated by the #OscarsSoWhite situation. While Brie nabs this cover and Leo’s been touting his issues on the global stage, there has not been much chatter about who is actually on Oscar’s list. Can you list the Best Supporting Actress nominees or Best Picture honourees off-hand? Many likely can’t. But they remember that Straight Outta Compton did not make the cut. Even Brie, a nominee, is thankful for this platform, but wishes it did not come at the expense of a discussion about whether or not the Oscars are too white.

Inside the magazine, the reporter prints everything Brie does not want her to. Who is her boyfriend, whom she kissed and gave a shout out to at the Golden Globes? It’s Phantom Planet’s Alex Greenwald. What did she eat during the interview? An egg white omelet. And then there’s what we already know – that Brie beat out Emma Watson, Mia Wasikowska, her “close friend Shailene Woodley” and Rooney Mara for her Room role. Perhaps this will become the same type of Hollywood urban legend as Eddie Redmayne losing out to Chris Pratt for Guardians of the Galaxy? There are the obvious Jennifer Lawrence comparisons too. Aside from their indie Oscar roots (Winter’s Bone vs. Room), apparently, the two met on a photoshoot years ago and were the only ones who ate donuts on-set. Oh, and Brie is set to play the lead in the film adaptation of The Glass Castle, a role that JLaw helped develop for the screen and held onto for years.

But we do learn a bit about the private Brie, especially that she is trying to adjust to her apparent overnight success despite her nearly 20 years in the business. Her first awards season splurge was on “nice underwear,” and her reaction to being nominated for an Oscar was a simple “Holy sh-t.” Her quest to maintain privacy or anonymity never comes off as precious, either. At least not yet. After all, as the magazine points out, this is the same 26-year-old who can’t stop fangirling about being in the company of Cate Blanchett, as a peer.

"I keep asking myself: How will my life be different? [After receiving news about her Oscar nomination] I have no idea. In this industry, where things change so quickly, I've found that having no expectations is the happiest way to go."

"It's me wanting to stay in my own little bubble and remain anonymous and invisible and at the same time needing to step up to this hand that I've been given."

She also sheepishly laughs off her teen popstar past (which is still the greatest, and worth a Google), but what comes through the most is her commitment to Room, and to her work. Her Trainwreck co-star Amy Schumer describes her as somebody with “overwhelming” talent and is exactly “as advertised.” This echoes what I’ve heard from Brie’s Canadian Room co-stars about her work ethic, which is that she tried so hard to get the role right. She did, even if now, in her own words, all this awards attention puts her “totally out of [her] comfort zone.”

If you didn't already buy into Brie's talent, does this profile help you buy into Brie, the star? Click here to read the full feature in THR.